


Summer's lease hath all too short a date

by rumpelsnorcack



Category: Lovely Little Losers, Nothing Much to Do
Genre: Alternate Universe, Fluff, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-22
Updated: 2016-01-28
Packaged: 2018-05-15 11:40:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 16,232
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5784052
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rumpelsnorcack/pseuds/rumpelsnorcack
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Balthazar was certain the pair had been talking about him, and equally certain it wasn’t anything good.  Therefore, getting a crush on one of them would be entirely inappropriate.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. 26th December

**Author's Note:**

> The Christmas/New Year camping au I was inspired to write when I was camping at Christmas/New Year. Funny how that works.  
> Rated teen for language.  
> Many thanks to the brilliant [strangetowns](http://archiveofourown.org/users/strangetowns/pseuds/strangetowns) for beta reading this for me.

It was a glorious day.  It was possibly _too_ glorious, Balthazar mused as they all struggled with the tent they were trying to put up.  The sun beating down was too hot on his neck, and was making all his friends irritable.

“I don’t see why we’ve been stuck with this tent site.  Everyone else is miles away and who knows what sort of weirdos will end up next to us,” Bea complained.  She was busy pegging in the corners of the tent they were all working on, a job that was making her both sweaty and grumpy.

“Ah, you know Jojo needed the quiet of the other site for the baby,” Balthazar said, as he wrestled with the pole he was trying to piece together.  “And that it’s better for Mum and Dad, and your folks, to be with them.”  He looked over at Bea’s disgusted face, and added, “Think of it as an adventure.”

Rosa smirked at him.  “Since when did you like adventure, Balthy?”  She took a long drink from a bottle of water as she watched him squirm.

Balthazar blushed and looked down, pretending that his whole focus was on the pole they were now trying to slide into place on the tent. 

“I just want to make the best of the situation,” he said.  “There’s no point getting angry about something we can’t control.”

“Yeah,” said Hero, smiling over at him.  “There’s nothing we can do about it, so why not try to enjoy it?  Besides, the people who have that site could be lovely.”  She patted Bea’s arm comfortingly, before adding, “Or there may not even be anyone booked there.”

They all glanced over at the other site, which didn’t have any of the shade or other advantages of the one they’d been given.  It still looked pleasant enough, Balthazar thought, with the grass a lush green and the path down to the river close by.  Beatrice seemed to have a similar thought.

“Nah, it’s bound to be taken,” she said.  “It’s bloody New Year, isn’t it?  Everything’s full.”

Leo rolled his eyes, and called their attention back to the job at hand.  “Either way, this tent won’t put itself up.  And we still have two more to go.”  He nodded at the bundles lying on the ground nearby.

They all groaned, but put more energy into getting the tents set up so they could unpack and stow the rest of their gear.  The sun still beat down, making the job uncomfortable, but it didn’t take long before all the tents were up and they could relax.

As they were all sitting down with cold drinks from the chiller, a car pulled up to the site next to them.

“There goes the last hope that no-one was going to hire that site, then,” Bea grumbled.  “What sort of family reunion is it where you’re separated from your family _and_ you end up stuck next to people with such shit taste in music?”  She winced as the car doors opened and the thumping beat of the song got louder and more insistent.

No-one bothered to answer her, and Balthazar watched as a group of guys piled out of the car and started buzzing around the site like bees.  A handsome guy with a cool haircut seemed to be directing proceedings, while a tall lanky one with dark hair bounced around waving his arms a lot.

Balthazar grinned as he took a long sip of his beer.  He could tell the handsome guy was getting frustrated.  His arm gestures were getting bigger and more forceful, and Balthazar could hear his voice drifting across the site, the tone long-suffering and irritated.

On impulse, Balthazar put his beer down and retrieved his ukulele from the tent.  As he plucked the strings he kept an eye on the other group laying out their tents.  His gaze kept being drawn to the handsome guy, who seemed to be in deep conversation with the excitable lanky one, while the other two did the bulk of the work.  Suddenly, the two Balthazar was watching looked up and over towards him.  The lanky one gesticulated in his direction with a sour look on his face.  Then he turned away again, towards the tent they were putting up, but the handsome guy caught Balthazar’s eyes and held the glance for a long moment.

Balthazar’s heart fluttered a little as he broke eye contact.  He cursed himself.  He did this occasionally – spotted a good looking guy somewhere and liked what he saw.  Usually that wasn’t a problem, and he could appreciate the looks and move on.  Sometimes, though, he found himself somewhere that he’d be in a positon to see the guy for longer than a brief moment.  Those times he, almost inevitably, ended up with a crush on the guy.  While he usually enjoyed those encounters, despite never doing anything about the crushes, today this sped-up heartbeat was not a good sign at all.  Balthazar was certain the pair had been talking about him, and equally certain it wasn’t anything good.  Therefore, getting a crush on one of them would be entirely inappropriate.  That didn’t stop a smile spreading across his face as he glanced up again to find the other guy’s eyes still on him.  One of the guys he was with called out something which drew the handsome guy’s attention away, and Balthazar let out a breath he’d been holding. 

Looking away from the group, he strummed a tune on the ukulele – he could feel the beginning of a new song forming.  A song which was inspired by this camping trip and the family reunion they were here for.  Balthazar continued working on the song while the other group set up.  Often when he looked up, he found the handsome guy’s eyes on him.  It started to make him nervous, though he did also find it flattering since the look in the guy’s eyes was intense and seemed somewhat approving.   Balthazar started to mess up his notes whenever he caught the other guy’s eyes, and Rosa was beginning to give him odd glances.

“Balthy, you’re staring,” she said finally, and he dragged his eyes back to her with a blush.

“I … what?  No.  I was …” he waved the ukulele at her as if to say he was deep in concentration on his song.

Rosa gave him an exasperated look.  “He is good looking, I guess,” she said with a teasing smirk.  “But you should probably try to be less obvious about checking him out.”

Balthazar felt the heat intensify in his cheeks, and determined to stop looking over that way.  There was no future in any sort of crush here; and if Rosa was noticing, then … well, then it was well past time to haul his attention back to those he was with.  He didn’t need her on his case for the entire time they were there, and she was excellent at jumping on any small excuse to tease him. 

After that, Balthazar was almost successful in keeping his thoughts away from the handsome guy.  He found it particularly easy once they had headed up to the camp site where the rest of the reunion was taking place.  Hanging out with the Jones and Not-Jones families worked well to take his mind off the handsome guy.  There was good conversation, good music, good food, and Balthazar caught up with cousins he hadn’t seen since the last reunion.  He found the time with his family enjoyable, if a little draining after setting up the tents in such heat.

The whole family hung out together throughout the afternoon.  It wasn’t until after dinner had been made and eaten, and the dishes washed up, that people began to give hugs and whisper goodbyes.  The babies and small children had long since crashed, their tiny bodies now wrapped up in sleeping bags or cuddled in adults’ arms.  It had been a good day, Balthazar thought as they all wandered slowly back down the road to their own campsite, and he was looking forward to seeing everyone again tomorrow.  A pleasant, tired weight sat in his muscles, making him keen to lie down somewhere with a book so he could relax away from other people.

By the time they got back to their site, Balthazar had almost forgotten about the handsome guy and his friends.  That is, he’d forgotten about them until their music, loud voices and drunken laughter carried through to his tent as he got into his sleeping bag.  Balthazar dragged his pillow over his head and tried to ignore the noise so he could get some sleep.

It didn’t work.  They seemed to be having a really good, and really noisy, time.  Balthazar rolled to his back and stared at the roof of his tent.  In some ways, he thought wistfully, it might be nice to be sitting out there with someone rather than tossing and turning in his sleeping bag and wishing he could rest.  Or write, or play music.  Or do _something_ other than just lying here.  Balthazar had always been a night owl, so it was something of a shock to find himself in bed before midnight in the pitch black.  It was even weirder to have no desire to waste his torch batteries by reading or writing.  Instead, he found himself listening to the group outside.

He could hear one voice which was louder than the others and seemed to carry some sort of authority amongst the people he was with.  It was almost soothing.  Balthazar thought that if there hadn’t been the thumping beat of the (really quite shit – Beatrice was right) music and occasional bursts of raucous laughter, the voice might have been enough to settle him into sleep.  As it was, he stared at the roof for several hours, wincing every time the noise got louder.  Eventually, he slid into sleep as the sounds coming from the other group grew a little softer.


	2. 27th December

“Fuck that noise.  I wish they’d shut up.”

Peter looked up as Ben started on his tirade again.  He hadn’t been happy when he’d been woken up early by music coming from an annoying bunch of musicians, and had been complaining ever since.  Well, it wasn’t exactly a bunch, Peter thought as he glanced in the direction of the cute guy he’d noticed yesterday.  He was strumming on a ukulele, and seemed to be the only one of them who was actually playing anything.  The guy was quite good, but Peter figured he should probably keep that to himself as Ben glared at the bloke.

Ben’s irritation had come to a head in the last few minutes, and okay … yeah.  It might be a little early for so much noise, but apart from that Peter couldn’t see what the big deal was.

“If it bothers you so much, why don’t you go say something?”

“Fine, then.  I will.”  Ben stood abruptly, and then stalked off with a determined look on his face.

Peter groaned.  He’d meant the comment as a silly joke, but it looked like Ben was more bothered by the music than Peter had realised.  Figuring he should at least try to moderate whatever Ben said to the other people, Peter reluctantly stood and followed him over.  He arrived just in time to hear Ben’s outraged voice, high pitched and urgent.

“We were just having a bit of fun.  Not like this all-day noise pollution you guys are inflicting on us.”

Well, that had escalated quickly.  This kind of anger was unusual for Ben, who tended to resort to quiet intrusive grumbling rather than yelling when he was annoyed about something.  Peter looked over at the musician, and grimaced.  The guy looked haunted.  His ukulele dangled from limp fingers and a dark crimson stained his cheeks.  Peter gave him what he hoped was a sympathetic smile before refocusing on Ben.  He was toe to toe with what could only be described as a ball of fury with dark blonde hair and a fierce look on her face.

“Don’t talk like that about my brother,” another voice cut in.  Peter then noticed another girl behind the first with an equally forbidding expression on her face.  Her blue eyes were cold, and quite different in expression from her brother’s.  “Your partying last night was pathetic, and at least Balthy has some talent and taste.”

“Pathetic?  It was not pathetic!  There’s nothing wrong with having a bit of fun!”

Ben appeared to be winding up to a full-on fight, and the girls seemed willing to join in.  Peter thought he’d better step in.  He placed a placating hand on Ben’s shoulder, and held his other out towards the two girls.

“Guys!  Ben!  How about we calm down and talk about this rationally.”

All three of the combatants turned towards him with equally infuriated expressions on their faces.  The cute guy (Balthy?), however, gave him a small smile before slipping off his chair and heading into the tent behind him.

“Look, we should at least introduce ourselves before we set into an all-out war.”  Peter tried to calm the rising tension with a little humour.  None of the people in front of him cracked a smile, but Peter thought he heard a snicker from the tent Balthy had disappeared into.  He smiled himself, turning on as much charm as he could as he looked at the two girls.

“I’m Peter, and despite what my colleague may have indicated, it’s nice to meet you.”  He held his hand out to the ball of fury first.

She eyed him with disdain for a few moments before taking his hand.

“Beatrice.  And this is Rosa.” She indicated towards the tent, “and our talented friend is Balthazar.  Our other friends are around somewhere.” She waved a vague hand in the direction of the path to the nearby river.

Beside Peter, Ben gave a heavy sigh.  “I’m Ben,” he said, his annoyance still clear in his voice.

Peter looked at the two girls, and ran his hands through his hair.  “Look, we’re sorry we bothered you last night.”

Ben snorted in disbelief, and Peter shot him a warning look.  “We promise we’ll try to keep it down tonight.  And for the record, I think your friend’s music was lovely.  Ben’s just grumpy in the mornings.”

Ben made an outraged noise while Rosa gave Peter a long, appraising look before nodding.

“We’ll try to be quieter too, or at least leave the music ‘til later in the day.  I know it’s not even eight, yet.”

“There.  See, Ben,” Peter said as he turned to his friend.  “You can solve so much more with politeness than with yelling.”

Ben huffed, then turned and stomped away towards their campsite.

“Sorry about him,” Peter said again as they watched Ben’s retreating back.  “He’s usually much more chill than this.  I hope he didn’t bother you too much.”

“Well, he seems like a bit of a dick,” said Beatrice, glaring in the direction he’d disappeared.  “But it was nice to meet _you_.”

Peter laughed and excused himself.  Behind him, he could hear Rosa calling to her brother.  When he glanced back he saw the guy emerging from his tent, this time without the ukulele.

He felt a stab of disappointment and resolved to figure out what was annoying Ben so he could try to convince him to play again.  The music had been quite peaceful, and the scene felt a little off now that it was missing.

He returned to the tent and followed Ben into his half. 

“What the hell was that, Benedick?”

“It was annoying!”

“Maybe, but maybe if we hadn’t been up ‘til like 3 this morning it wouldn’t have been so annoying?”

Ben moaned, holding his hands to his head.  “My head hurts, and the music wasn’t helping.”  He threw himself back on his stretcher, which wobbled alarmingly, and glared up at Peter.  “Why’d you say we’d be quieter?  They seem like boring people, anyway.  Can’t even enjoy a bit of fun.”

“And you seemed like an insensitive dick, so there’s that.”

“I’m not insensitive!”  The outrage in Ben’s tone would be comical if it wasn’t for the sadness in his eyes, which he tried to mask as he glared at Peter.

“I know.  But from what those people know of you, they’d be in their rights to think it.” Peter patted Ben on the back, realising that calling him insensitive had maybe been a bit much.  “It’s just … you’re not usually this aggressive, you know?  Maybe it wasn’t the best time to talk to them.  Anyway, you might feel better with more sleep, do you think?”  Peter smiled at Ben, hoping to jolly him out of his mood.  “Besides, they might be better than they seem.”

Ben snorted and turned his back on Peter.  Peter took that as his cue to leave.  It seemed that Ben was not pleasant after little sleep and while nursing a hangover.  His usual sunny disposition seemed to have deserted him this morning.  Peter figured it would be best to leave him to fester by himself for a while.  With any luck, a bit more sleep would do him some good.

Peter set up a chair outside the tent and picked up a book.  Instead of reading, however, he spent a lot of time darting looks at the other tent site.  He was concerned that Ben had really upset the musician, so he wanted to be sure the guy was okay.  Peter didn’t want to investigate why exactly he might feel that way.  His eyes had been drawn to the other guy a lot yesterday before the whole group had disappeared.  There were even some moments when he’d thought the looks he was getting back were more than friendly.

Now, however, the guy seemed to be avoiding any looks their way at all, though he looked relaxed and was laughing at comments the people around him were making.  Even so, there was still no sign of the ukulele.  Peter felt a stab of disappointment as he surreptitiously watched the group pack up some gear and walk together along the road that ran through the middle of the campground.  He sighed. 

“She’s pretty hot, yeah,” Claudio said beside him as he set up a chair next to Peter’s and handed him a beer.

“Huh?”  Peter accepted the beer and twisted the top off as he tried to figure out what Claudio meant.

“That chick you were just staring at.  The blonde one.”  He waved in the direction the other group had disappeared in.

“Oh.  Her.  I guess so.” Peter took a sip of his beer, before adding, “I was more hoping we didn’t completely ruin neighbourly relations with Ben’s little freak out this morning.”

“Yeah, well.  Eye candy is never a bad thing,” Claudio said as he slumped down in his chair, with his hat down over his eyes.  “Pity they buggered off, really.”

And that, Peter thought as he took another swig of his own beer, was something he actually could agree with Claudio on.

It wasn’t that he was actively looking out for the other group coming back, Peter thought to himself later.  It was just that he was interested in his surroundings, and wanted to be sure the other tents were okay.  You know, watch to be sure no-one weird was snooping around or anything.  He wasn’t watching to see Balthazar return; that wasn’t it at all.

The fact that Peter noticed the exact moment when they all came back, in high spirits and joking around with each other, was beside the point.  He was … was just making sure that Ben hadn’t upset the musician too much with his dickishness before.  What he saw was good, he supposed.  The guy seemed happy enough, as he set up their cooking area and had an animated conversation with the younger of the blonde girls while they cooked.  This one Peter hadn’t met, but the two of them seemed to get on well and had an easy camaraderie which looked nice.  Their faces were animated and they laughed a lot together.

When Claudio asked him to help with their own cooking, Peter accepted with good grace.  It allowed him to keep looking over at the other group. Which, he reminded himself, he _wasn’t_ doing to check anyone out, of course not.  Claudio obviously thought differently.

“Mate, focus.  You said you weren’t into eye candy.”

“I’m not!” Peter said, outraged.  “It’s just weird … they look like they’re not using meat.  That’s weird while camping, right?”

“Not checking out the hot blonde again, then?”  Claudio’s shoulders were tense as he looked at Peter, waiting for the answer, and his face was filled with emotion he couldn’t hide.

“Me?  No, definitely not.”  Peter shrugged, returning his focus to the food they were making.

“She is _really_ hot, though, like I said before.  I wouldn’t blame you at all.” He looked over at the other camp site himself.  “Might go talk to her sometime.”  He cast a quick glance at Peter, who shrugged.

“Go for it, if you like.  Not my type.”

Claudio gave a more natural smile then, and his shoulders relaxed.  Peter managed to keep his eyes away from the other site for the rest of the time they were cooking.  But he spared a look over as they called the others to eat.  The musician was sitting outside their tent with a plate of food, and seemed happy enough as he talked with his friends.  _Good_ , thought Peter.  _Doesn’t seem too upset about Ben_.  The other guy looked up at him then, and then quickly away with a blush.  Peter pulled his own eyes away too.  It was more than time to drag his attention to what he was actually here for – having a good time with his own friends.  He absolutely, one hundred percent, was not here to get some sort of crush on someone he likely would never see again, and he had to remember that.


	3. December 28th

Balthazar woke early.  It was a sudden jolt from sleeping to waking with none of the lazy, gentle drift into awareness that he was used to.  His heart hammered in his chest, making him wonder what had woken him.  Any dream had already faded into oblivion, but Balthazar was so alert now he knew there’d be no quick slide back into sleep.  He sighed and rubbed his hands over his face, the slight pain enough to remind him that he was indeed awake.  He groaned.  It was such an ungodly hour, but since he was awake, and unlikely to go back to sleep, he guessed he might as well just get up.

A few minutes later, and careful not to wake Rosa, whose soft snuffles he could hear coming from the tent’s other room, Balthazar slipped out of the tent and into the light of early dawn.  Not wanting to disturb anyone, he made his way carefully down towards the river.

The soft murmur of the water seemed much louder in the quiet of the morning, and Balthazar found himself feeling at peace as he perched on a large flat rock.  He watched the water trickle and cascade over and among the rocks and pebbles near the swimming hole, feeling content.  Balthazar ended up so caught up in his own thoughts, and in tracing the patterns the water created as it made its way down the river, that he lost track of what was happening around him.

A stone slid past him with a loud rattle, startling him out of his reverie.  He spun around, as best he could where he was sitting, as a voice said, “shit,” nearby.  He blushed.  It was the handsome guy from the next tent site.

“Sorry, man.  I didn’t mean to disturb you.  I just slipped…”

“Nah, it’s okay.  I wasn’t really doing anything.”

“It’s Balthazar, right?  You’re the musician?”

“Yeah.  And … yeah.”  Balthazar said the last with hesitation.  Yesterday’s altercation had been uncomfortable for him, so he tensed, waiting to see what Handsome Guy was going to say about his music.  He hadn’t been willing to play again, not wanting to cause any more friction.  Rosa had railed at him about it, but the ukulele had remained carefully packed away in the tent.

Handsome Guy seemed to sense his discomfort.  He held his hand out and said, “I’m Peter, by the way.  It’s nice to meet you properly.”

Balthazar took his hand, which was warm and steady, and felt a flutter in his stomach.  He dropped the hand quickly and looked down.

“Hey, look,” Peter continued, “I’m really sorry about Ben.  He’s not usually such a dick.”

Balthazar shrugged, feeling uncomfortable.

“It’s okay.”

“Can I sit?” Peter indicated the rock on which Balthazar was perched.  It was the only spot to sit on, so Balthazar slid sideways a little, opening up enough room for him.

Once Peter was seated, his thigh pressed against Balthazar’s because the rock wasn’t really big enough for two people to sit on.

“It’s really not okay, though, is it?”  Peter continued.

“Huh?”

“Ben.  Obviously it’s not okay.  You haven’t played since he made a fuss.”

Warmth flooded through Balthazar at the knowledge that Peter had been paying attention.  He shrugged again.

“I just don’t want to upset people,” he said.  “It seemed easier to just leave it.”

“Ben was a dick, though.  And I liked it, the music I mean.  You’re really good.”

Balthazar smiled.  “Thanks.”

“You should play more.  I’ve missed the music since you stopped.  I promise I’ll restrain Ben, and besides he honestly isn’t usually like that.  I think he was just hungover and grumpy.”  He smiled a little.

“Maybe,” Balthazar said, noncommittally.  He was still unsure and, despite Peter’s assurances, he didn’t want to assume that this Ben guy would be receptive.  The idea of causing more friction was more stressful than the idea of not playing for a few days.

They sat in silence for a few moments, and Balthazar allowed himself to enjoy the feeling of Peter’s body pressed so closely to his on the rock.  He also smelled good for someone who’d been camping for a few days – all musky and masculine.  But this was weird, right?  They’d barely met and here he was being all little-kid-with-a-crush over him.  This wasn’t how normal people acted, he was sure.  It would be best to nip this in the bud if he could.  Balthazar sighed, and Peter turned to look at him again.

“So, where are you from?” he asked.

“Auckland.  We’re here for a family reunion.”

“Cool.  Us, too.  Auckland, I mean.  Not the reunion.  We’re just here for New Year.”

“I could tell,” Balthazar teased.

“Yeah.  Sorry about the noise the other night.”

“It was better last night.  Thanks.”

Peter smiled at him, making Balthazar’s heart speed up again.  _Dammit, Balth_ , he chided himself.  _There’s no point getting a crush out here, even if the guy’s from Auckland.  You’re only here for a few days.  Just focus.  Bud-nipping, remember._ It was hard, though.  The look in Peter’s eyes was warm and admiring, and Balthazar was almost sure it was also a little flirty.

“What makes you have a family reunion in a campground, though?  That seems a bit …” Peter waved his hand to indicate the surroundings.

Balthazar laughed a little, remembering the arguments his parents had with the formidable matriarch of the family over that very issue.  “We didn’t use to.  We always met up at my grandmother’s house, which is like huge with a massive garden.  But we got too big, as a family I mean.  Too many people.  So this is just where we fit the best.”

“Makes sense.”

“Not to Nana.  She was so upset when we decided to come here that she almost didn’t come to the reunion.”

“Your Nana’s camping?  How’s she finding it?”

“She wouldn’t come ‘til Mum hired a caravan for her, so she could have what she calls a proper bed.”

Peter laughed.  “Your Nana sounds great.  Mine would never camp, not even in a caravan.”

“Yeah, she’s pretty cool.”  Balthazar realised he’d been talking about himself for quite a while, something he wasn’t used to doing.  “What about you?” he asked, to take attention off himself.  “Why come to the middle of nowhere for New Year when you could have a real house and a real bed?”

“I don’t know?  Adventure, maybe?”   He looked out over the water and smiled.  “It sounded like a good idea at the time – you know, get out in the great outdoors, away from civilisation.  All that jazz.”

“This place is still pretty civilised, though.  Kinda why we chose it.  I can’t imagine Nana agreeing to camp anywhere without power and running water.”

“Yeah, but we don’t have any wifi or even any coverage on the phones.  It’s driving my friend Robbie around the bend, but I like not having people getting in contact so much.  It’s peaceful.”

“Makes sense.”

They both fell silent, then, looking out at the water which was now tinged with a pink glow from the rising sun.  It was surprisingly easy, Balthazar thought, to sit here with this person who was practically a stranger.  He was easy to talk to and the warmth of his leg against Balthazar’s own was reassuring and didn’t feel intrusive.

“This is nice,” Peter sighed eventually.

“Yeah.”  Balthazar smiled, admiring the scenery and the peace of the early morning.  “Almost worth the early wake up.”

“Definitely worth the wake up,” Peter said as he looked back at Balthazar.  “I got to meet you and talk to you properly.”  Balthazar blushed and ducked his head.  When he looked up, Peter was giving him that flirty look again.  His throat went dry and he reminded himself that he was definitely not allowed to get a crush.  He figured it would be best to leave before he fell too deep into conversation.

“It was great to meet you, too.  But I should be getting back to the tent since no-one knows where I went.”

“Yeah, me too.”  Peter smiled as he stood up and held out a hand to help Balthazar.  “You’ll play again, though, right?  I want to hear.”

After that look, Balthazar rather thought he might.  As much as he might tell himself to step back and calm down over this, Peter wasn’t exactly making it easy.  He was sending what felt like very flirtatious signals, and Balthazar was finding them hard to resist.

They made their way back up to the campground slowly.  Once he got back to his tent, Balthazar allowed himself one final glance in the direction Peter had gone when they separated.  He was back with his small group of friends and they were all laughing about something that one had said.  Peter had his hand on one’s shoulder and was grinning as he leaned closer, his expression warm and his eyes focused on the other guy.  It looked very similar to the way Peter had been acting during their conversation.

While and his friends had breakfast and got ready to head off, Balthazar kept an eye on the other group.  For the hour or so it took them to get ready, he studied Peter.  What he saw made Balthazar unaccountably sad. It looked like Peter was just the sort of person who touched other people a lot and had little regard for personal space.  There was nothing to indicate that the way he’d been with Balthazar was at all out of the ordinary.  So, he reminded himself again, he needed to stop this stupid crush in its tracks.  Take a step back and just focus on the reunion and his family.  He’d be back in Auckland in a few days and could forget this madness. 

Despite his resolution, Balthazar spared another glance at Peter as they all started heading to their parents’ tent site.  Peter caught his eye and smiled, giving him a thumbs up.  Balthazar dragged his eyes away, and gave his attention to those he was with.  The first thing he could do, he told himself, was not play the ukulele.  He didn’t need Peter’s attention right now.  That would be counterproductive to his attempts to nip whatever this was in the bud.

Even so, Balthazar couldn’t help the way his eyes would stray to the other group once they were all back in the same place.  He’d been able to keep his focus while he’d been at his parents’ site for the reunion.  But now … now he would catch a glimpse of a shirt that looked like the one Peter had been wearing that morning and his attention would be grabbed, or his head would snap up at a hint of Peter’s voice.  Sometimes there was no-one there, and Rosa would be looking at Balthazar like he had gone weird.  He supposed that wasn’t far from the truth.  They’d had one conversation – even for Balthazar this was ridiculously quick to be this smitten.

Eventually, though, both groups gathered in their own circles outside their tents.  Balthazar cursed the fact that he ended up facing the other group.  This would be much easier to deal with if he’d been able to turn his back on Peter.  But there he was, sitting across from Balthazar and unfortunately he would sometimes look up when Balthazar was looking.  Every time he did, Balthazar felt that weird sensation in his stomach and his mouth would go dry.  On the worst occasions, when Peter looked particularly flirty, Balthazar would sometimes even lose track of what he was saying, falling over his words and stuttering.

“For goodness’ sake, Balthazar,” Rosa snorted eventually.  “You are so obvious it’s pathetic.”

Balthazar could feel his cheeks heating up.  “Sorry.”

“If you’re this hopeless over it, you should go talk to him.”

“I already talked to him.  He’s not interested.”

Rosa gaped and Bea gasped out loud.  “You asked the guy out already?  Didn’t know you had it in you,” Bea said admiringly.

“No.  Of course not.  But I can tell when someone’s interested … and he’s not.  He’s just a friendly guy.”

“Perhaps you should stop staring, then.”  Rosa punched him on the arm as she took another swig of her drink.  “Don’t want to look like a desperate loser, even if you are.”

Embarrassed, Balthazar smiled but didn’t say anything.  Instead he took a sip of his own drink and tried to turn his focus away from the other camp site.  He’d known Rosa would be terrible about it if he was too obvious, and here was his proof.  This definitely needed to be reined in before she had ammunition to tease him for the entirety of next year.  So when he left the circle to get another drink, Balthazar made sure he was sitting with his back to Peter when he returned.  No need to make things harder for himself than necessary, after all.


	4. December 29th

Peter had really enjoyed meeting the cute guy yesterday morning.  _His name’s Balthazar_ , he reminded himself with a smile.  There had been a moment when he’d felt as if some sort of connection had been created between the two of them, and Peter had considered asking for his number.  But Balthazar had been so reserved that Peter couldn’t tell for sure if he would have been receptive.

Instead, Peter determined to see more of the other guy and maybe ask for the number later if it seemed like there genuinely was something there.  Unfortunately, not too long after they had returned to their campsites, Balthazar and his friends had headed away, and they hadn’t returned all day.  They were presumably with the other members of their reunion.  Peter couldn’t help the stab of disappointment he’d felt when he realised he wouldn’t see much of Balthazar while they were there.

However, hopeful of meeting him again, Peter made the early trek down to the river as soon as he woke up.  As he’d hoped, Balthazar _was_ there, but he wasn’t alone.  An intimidatingly buff guy was squashed with him on the rock, and they looked very cosy.  Sadness gripped Peter, even though he knew it shouldn’t – he barely knew the guy, after all.  He could have an intimidatingly buff boyfriend for all Peter knew.  Their relationship statuses hadn’t come up in yesterday’s conversation.

After a few long seconds, Peter started the slow trek across the unstable stones of the river bed towards the rock.  He tried to be quiet, but must have made some noise he wasn’t aware of because both other guys looked up together and registered his presence. Balthazar’s face lit up in a blinding smile, while the other guy looked annoyed.

“Hey,” Balthazar said as Peter approached the rock.

“Hi.  We meet again, it seems.”

“Yeah.  Couldn’t sleep again, but this time I disturbed Leo.  My stealth skills are obviously not up to scratch.”

Leo laughed.  “I was already awake, Balth.  But I’d better be getting back.  It’s my turn to cook breakfast, and you know how cranky Bea is until she’s eaten.”

Balthazar laughed and nodded.  Leo looked between him and Peter and threw a significant look to Balthazar, before squeezing his arm and standing up.  Balthazar gave him a soft smile, and Peter felt the weird sadness again – quite probably a boyfriend, then.

“Don’t be too long, Balth,” Leo warned as he left.  “Big day today and your parents expect us up the hill really early.”

Balthazar looked a little annoyed, but nodded again.  He looked up at Peter after Leo left, then patted the rock beside him.

“You want to sit down?”

“Yeah, sure.”

Peter sat down, allowing himself the luxury of letting his leg relax so it pressed firmly against Balthazar’s.  He swallowed as he did so, knowing this was a bad idea if Balthazar was seeing someone else.  They caught each other’s eyes, and the smile Balthazar gave him loosened something that had been sitting tight inside his chest.

“Leo seems nice,” Peter commented, unable to stop himself from digging his own grave.  He both wanted and feared to know what Balthazar had to say on the subject.

Balthazar laughed again.  “Don’t mind him; he’s just … he’s Hero’s older brother and he just treats us all like we’re his family.  Gets a bit of the over-protective dad vibe.”

While he was desperate to believe it was Balthazar setting his mind at ease about Leo, Peter couldn’t help wondering if he was just basking in the fact that the guy he was with was so protective.  Balthazar’s expression was unreadable, and his voice gave no sign of what he might be feeling.  Trying to figure out if he should ask for a number was frustrating as hell, and Peter wasn’t sure if it was even worth it.  There wasn’t much to indicate that Balthazar felt anything beyond casual friendship for Peter, so perhaps allowing himself to hope was stupid.  It might be better just to enjoy a quick friendship and then let it be.

To stop his thoughts from getting too involved, Peter asked, “How’s the reunion going?”

“Yeah, it’s okay, you know? It’s fun, but it’s a lot of people, and …” Balthazar trailed off.

“You don’t like lots of people?”

“Nah, I do.  But I’m used to being by myself so sometimes it gets a bit much.”

While Peter didn’t understand the idea, he gave Balthazar a sympathetic smile.  “That must be rough.  D’you want me to leave you alone, then?”

The look Balthazar gave him was again unreadable, his blue eyes hooded and wary.

“I don’t mind,” he said finally.  “You’re pretty restful.”

Peter couldn’t keep the grin off his face.  In response, Balthazar’s face lightened too.  They sat together in comfortable silence for a long moment, before Balthazar spoke again.

“So, how are you finding your adventure?  Found any dangerous, ravening beasts anywhere?”

 “Sadly no.  This place is seriously lacking in beasts of any kind.  Well, you know, apart from Ben the other day.”  Peter became serious again and he looked at Balthazar carefully.  He found himself trying to work out if he had stopped feeling so uncomfortable about Ben.  Balthazar’s face was closed and unreadable again, so Peter pressed on.  “You should meet him again; he’s really usually a fun guy.”

“I’m sure he is.”

“You don’t sound convinced.”

“Nah, I am.  I know hangovers can make you shitty.”

“You didn’t play again yet, though.  I can’t help but feel at least a bit responsible for that,” Peter said after another long moment of silence.  He’d finally worked out why he’d felt so overprotective of Balthazar that first day.

“Why?  It had nothing to do with you.”

“I suggested he go talk to you guys, though.  I didn’t know he’d be so not-Ben when he did.”

“Nah.  It’s fine, don’t worry.  I just don’t really feel like playing.”

“I’ve missed hearing you.”

Peter glanced over at Balthazar in time to see a blush and a pleased smile.  He nudged Balthazar’s leg with his own, enjoying the proximity despite knowing it was unwise.  “Please tell me you’ll play again.  Just for me?”

“Yeah, okay.  Maybe I will.” Balthazar’s voice was strong and firm.  There was a hint of crimson in his cheeks which Peter assumed had something to do with Ben and his idiocy, but he seemed cheerful enough.

“I could, like, come and sit with you.  You know, protect you from the wrath of Ben,” Peter offered, in the hope that it would calm any reservations Balthazar might have about playing.  “We’ll just ignore the fact you don’t actually need protecting from that actual teddy bear.”

Balthazar laughed.  “You’d be welcome any time, protection or not.”  He looked at Peter from under lowered lashes, and Peter’s body flooded with pleasure at the words.  Then disappointment hit as Balthazar continued.

“But it probably won’t be today.  Leo’s right – today’s the big day for the reunion, so we’ll be up at the other site all day.”

Trying to keep the tone casual and friendly, Peter said, “Sad.  I was looking forward to being your groupie.  Oh well.  Tomorrow maybe?”

“Yeah.  I think tomorrow we get a day off from family bonding events, so I probably will stick around by the tent.”

“Tomorrow then.  I look forward to it.”

Something swooped in Peter’s stomach as Balthazar smiled and ducked his head.  The movement shifted his arm against Peter’s, sending a jolt of tingling energy through his body.  His breath caught in his throat as Balthazar stood up, and his voice was unsteady as they said their goodbyes.  It was amazing, and a little scary – considering how uncertain Peter even was about everything – just how drawn he felt to the other guy in such a short time.  He had to remind himself that, regardless of possible boyfriends, there was really no future in this thing.  It would _definitely_ be best to keep things cool for the remaining few days he had left.  Peter knew he wouldn’t, though.  He was too intrigued – too infatuated – to keep his distance, particularly since Balthazar seemed receptive to his presence.  He thought.  Maybe.  If he wasn’t just deluding himself.

The wind had picked up a lot by the time the other group returned from their reunion at dinner time.  Peter was busy trying to find the most sheltered spot to set up their gas cooker.  He’d figured that it wasn’t the wisest idea to have a barbeque going with the wind the way it was.  He managed to find a spot between the two groups of tents that might work, and as he set up he heard a small laugh beside him.  Peter looked up and saw Balthazar with a similar cooker to his own.

“Great minds think alike, huh?” he said.

“Guess so,” Balthazar said.  He kept his eyes away from Peter’s as he set up his cooker.

It wasn’t until Peter had their sausages sizzling in a pan that he took notice of what Balthazar was doing.

“You vegetarian or something?” Peter asked him, nodding at the vegetables which he was preparing.

Balthazar glanced up at him and grinned.  “Yeah, actually, I am.  And everyone else is too while we’re here, because it’s easier.”

“Nice.  Does seem to mean you cook a lot.”

“Yeah, but I don’t mind.  I find it relaxing.”

He finished preparing the vegetables and began to cook.  Almost immediately, whatever herbs Balthazar had used started to smell wonderful.  Peter sniffed appreciatively.

“That actually looks really good.  Makes mine look a bit crap.”  Peter looked down to where the sausages were beginning to shrivel and look decidedly unappetising by comparison.

Balthazar laughed.  “I am pretty used to cooking this stuff, so you know.”  He shrugged.

“You said you were from Auckland?  Whereabouts?” 

“Way out West.  Miles from anywhere really, apart from some beaches.  You?”

“Wow, that _is_ miles out!  We’re on the other side of the city centre.  Well, nearish there – a little bit further out.” 

Peter’s heart sank.  Even if he did decide to get Balthazar’s number, they lived so far apart – it would take well over an hour each way to get between their homes.  Trying to see each other would be incredibly difficult.

“Fancy.” Balthazar smiled at him. 

“You can talk!”

“Yeah, but people practically kill each other to get near the city centre.”

“Not for this place, they don’t.  Believe me.”

“Don’t believe it for a minute.  It’s probably a super mansion you just don’t want us mere mortals to see.”

“Ah, you got me.  I really live in the lap of luxury.  With Ben.  And my brother.  And his mate.”

“See, I knew it.  You totally come across as the pampered prince type.  With your old tent and your old car.  It’s obviously a cover for your lifestyle of glitz and glamour.”

Peter gasped in mock outrage.  “You take that back!  My lifestyle involves no glitz at all, just lots of glamour.”

Balthazar sniggered, and Peter carried on.  “What about you?  You’re probably like a pixie or an elf or something, living in all that forest out West.”

Balthazar raised his eyebrows, but played along.  “I am one with the trees, yes.  They are my brothers.  In fact, I don’t live in a house, but just hang out at the top of the trees.”

“I could tell – no actual human has eyes that big.”

“Damn, I hid the pointy ears but forgot about the eyes.  My downfall …” He was laughing, and Peter found the sound rather endearing.

They kept up the banter for the rest of the time they were cooking.  Balthazar had a dry sense of humour which made Peter laugh, and they teased each other more about their respective parts of the city.  Peter couldn’t remember enjoying himself more.  In fact, he was enjoying himself so much that he stuck around even after the sausages were done.  It took a disgruntled Robbie coming over to ask where they were to remind him that he needed to feed other people.

“Hey, this was fun,” he said to Balthazar as he gathered his stuff up and got ready to follow Robbie over to the other guys. 

“Yeah it was.”  Balthazar smiled.

“Don’t forget you have to play for me.”  Peter winked at Balthazar and caught his delighted smile as he bent over his own food.  “Might see you tomorrow, yeah?”

“Yeah.”

Peter smiled to himself as he left the other guy behind.  _Fuck it_ , he thought _.  I_ am _going to get his number.   Distance is nothing; we can travel._  There was one big issue remaining, of course.  The intimidatingly buff guy, Leo.  If he was a boyfriend there was obviously nothing Peter could or should do, but asking for the number should hopefully sort that bit out. He’d ask for the number tomorrow, Peter decided, maybe at the river if Balthazar turned up.   Feeling satisfied that he had a plan, Peter took his plate of food and sat down with his friends.


	5. December 30th

“Shit, shit, shit, shit.”  Rosa’s voice was high and strident, and unfortunately getting closer.  Balthazar sighed, and opened his eyes.  He’d been trying to daydream about Peter.  He’d been going over his features in his mind, attempting to fix them in his memory, along with his scent and the sound of his voice.  They had such a short time left to explore anything, and anyway Peter seemed to have pulled back a little in the flirting too.  He seemed friendly now but nothing more.  So, even though he knew nothing could ever happen, Balthazar wanted to remember Peter, remember this time.  He knew he could probably just snap a picture, but he preferred his own memory.  A picture could never capture the heady rush of emotion he felt when he caught the sound of a voice, or the whiff of cologne.  A picture was never going to be able to capture the timbre of Peter’s voice or the way his leg felt as it pressed against Balthazar’s. 

Unfortunately, Rosa scratched on his tent wall and called, “Oi, loser.  You up?” before he’d committed the essence of what made Peter to his memory.

He groaned out, “Gimme a minute, I’ll be right out.” 

He heard Rosa’s annoyed huff from outside as he slid out of his sleeping bag and pulled on some jeans.

When Balthazar emerged, Rosa had a thunderous look on her face and his stomach clenched.  That look never boded well.

“What’s up?  You seem a little stressed.”

“Do I? Can’t think why.”

Balthazar waited patiently for her to answer his question.

“The fucking idiot Hero calls a brother backed the car into the tent and it’s broken all the poles on my end.”

“Shit, really?”  Balthazar was shocked.  Yes he’d felt the shudder and heard the loud voices, but it hadn’t felt any different to the myriad times Bea had tripped over the guy ropes so he hadn’t bothered getting up to look.

“Yes, really.  So now neither of us has any place to sleep.  We may have to go home.”

“What about …”

“I know where you’re going with this, and no.  Bea and Hero are sharing already, and Leo’s tent is the world’s smallest.  No way even you would fit in there.”

“What about Mum and Dad?  Guess they don’t have room, either?” 

Balthazar was starting to panic, his brain sparking in a hundred directions trying to find a way to a solution.

“No shit, Sherlock.  They’re all full too.  That’s why we’re here with the loud losers, remember?” 

Rosa seemed to be enjoying Balthazar’s obvious distress now that he was appropriately concerned.  He grimaced, but didn’t say anything.

“I’m going to go talk to Dad,” Rosa announced suddenly.  She turned on her heel and left the tent, leaving Balthazar with a churning stomach and whirling thoughts in her wake.

He decided to go down to the river to sort his thoughts out.  He arrived a little later than usual and was startled to see Peter there already. Despite his worry, warmth flooded his body when Peter looked up at him with his usual charming smile.

“Hey!  I thought you might not be coming today,” Peter said, moving along to make room on the rock.

“Yeah.  Things aren’t good at the tent,” Balthazar said as he sat down.  Just saying the words made him tense up again.

Peter shot him a concerned look.

“What’s up?”

Normally, Balthazar would keep it to himself, say it was no big deal.  Normally, he would try to keep his own worries and issues away from other people.  But today he was so overwhelmed that he just blurted it out.

“Our tent’s broken, me and my sister’s.  We don’t have another, and we may have to go home.”

“Oh, shit, that sucks.  How much longer are you supposed to stay?”

“Til like New Year’s Day.”

Suddenly Peter’s face lit up.  “I may have a solution,” he said.  “Ben and I are sharing a tent, but we have a room each.  We could share and you and your sister could have the other one.”

“Oh.  Um.”  Balthazar ran a nervous hand through his hair.  “I don’t know … I mean, I wouldn’t want to be a bother and …”

“No.  No bother at all.  I’d hate you to miss your reunion just because you had no tent.  Not when we can help.  Besides you still didn’t play for me.”

“Yeah, that Ben guy didn’t seem to care much for us.  I’m really not sure we’d be welcome.”

“He’s over it, I promise.”  He noticed Balthazar grimace at the words, and added, “Look, I’ll talk to him.”  Peter squeezed Balthazar’s arm.  “Seriously, it’s not a big deal.”

It wasn’t a big deal to Peter, maybe, but as much as Balthazar wanted to stay, he was really worried about sleeping in a tent with people he barely knew.  It was particularly awkward considering that one of those people was someone who’d made it pretty clear he wasn’t fond of Balthazar.

As if sensing how reluctant Balthazar was, Peter smiled and bumped his leg.  “How about we go back up and I’ll talk to Ben and the others before we make any decisions?”

When they got back to the site, Rosa was back along with both the Jones parents and all the Dukes.  Peter moved off to his tent with a reassuring smile at Balthazar, who headed towards his parents.

“Balth!” His mother cried.  “What are we going to do? No-one has any room.”

“Um, actually,” said Balthazar, looking down, “Peter has offered us a room in his tent, if his friend doesn’t mind…”

He waved in the direction Peter had gone.  As if on cue, Peter and Ben came out of their tent and started towards them.

“Oh, well, that’s a lovely offer, but …”

“Yeah I know,” said Balthazar.  “I’m not so sure, really.  I mean, we don’t know them very well …”

Peter’s smile slipped a little as he approached and heard what Balthazar was saying, but he held out his hand to each of the parents in turn.

“Hi, I’m Peter, and this is Ben.  We’re happy to share his room in the tent if these two still need somewhere to stay.”

“Yeah,” added Ben.  “It seems silly for these guys to leave when we have a solution.”

Balthazar’s father glanced at him.  Balthazar felt conflicted.  On one hand, he was really unsure about taking the offer and imposing.  On the other hand, he hated the thought of missing the rest of the reunion and disappointing his family.  He shrugged, trying to hand the decision over to someone else.  His father smiled.

“Well, it seems like this is probably our only option.  If you boys are sure …” Balthazar’s dad turned to Peter and Ben.

“Yeah, no problem,” Peter said easily.  He turned to Balthazar.  “Do you guys need help with getting the tent down or moving your stuff or anything?”

“Yeah, sure.  Thanks.”

Peter and Ben joined in willingly to help them take down the tent.  After a while, Balthazar found himself warming up to Ben’s energetic style of communication.

“Hey, we could have sword fights with these!” He exclaimed at one point, waving a broken tent pole around.  “It would be so epic.  Like Lord of the Rings!  We could be hobbits.”

“Ben, you’re way too big to be a hobbit,” Peter said with a small laugh.  “You’d be like Saruman or an elf.”

“I could too be a hobbit.  I’d just be the only hobbit who ate my greens and grew tall and strong.  That’s why they’re so short, you know,” he said in a conspiratorial whisper, leaning close to Balthazar.  “They eat all this food, but not the right stuff.  It’s tragic really.”

Balthazar snorted, watching as Ben tried out various poses with his ‘sword’. 

“Or we could just put this stuff away like reasonable people,” Leo said as the pole whizzed close to his ear.  He caught it easily and tugged it out of Ben’s hands.

“But wouldn’t it be more fun to pretend we’re on a quest to get a sacred ring to the fiery pits of hell, or something.  Or … or a quest to mend this ruined tent and restore its owners to a proper abode.”

He bowed towards Rosa, who rolled her eyes but looked entertained nevertheless.

An hour or so later, the tent was down and packed away in a car, and Balthazar and Rosa’s stuff had all been stowed in the new tent.  The room they were using was a little squished, but it was, as Peter had pointed out, a lot better than not being there at all.

Balthazar was nervous about this.  It still didn’t feel right to be sleeping in the tent of people he didn’t know well, no matter how gracious their offer had been.  He was tempted to play his ukulele.  His fingers itched for it after so long without playing, and it had always calmed him down when he was stressed about something.  But he was reluctant to do it when he was living in Ben’s space.  Granted, he seemed to be nicer than their first encounter had indicated, but Balthazar was still unsure if it really had been a hangover and the early hour that had been the problem and not the music itself.  Despite assurances, Balthazar was unwilling to take the chance of making things tense again, not now they had to share a tent.

“Knock, knock,” Peter called out as he ducked his head through the opened flap of the tent. 

Balthazar smiled at him as he sat down next to him on the sleeping roll.

“You okay?” Peter asked.

“Yeah.  It’s just a bit weird.”

“Well, I’m pleased you’re still here.  I’ve really enjoyed getting to know you.”

Balthazar’s breath caught in his throat.  There was something intense and meaningful in Peter’s look, and he had to look away from everything it suggested.  He dragged his wits together and smiled again.

“Me too,” he said as naturally as he could manage.

“Hey, you still didn’t play for me.  You wanna give me a show now?”

Balthazar laughed, the tension he’d felt moments ago gone.  “I was just thinking about how I missed playing.  But Ben …”

“Don’t worry about him.  He’s gone off to the river with Robbie and Claudio.”

“Okay then.”

Balthazar played a few songs for Peter, who applauded and made a fuss after each one.  By the end, all Balthazar’s reservations were gone and he was laughing too.  It felt good to be playing again, and he felt much more comfortable with the arrangement now.

“You make a good groupie,” he said eventually as he put the instrument down.

“I try,” Peter said, smiling.  “Your playing is excellent.  I’d love to hear more sometime.”

Blushing, Balthazar promised to play again before they left.

That evening, Balthazar felt uneasy again, however.  They’d come back down from the reunion, where they had been fed dinner this time, but now he was unsure what to do.  Normally he’d sit outside his tent with a friend or two or reading a book, but tonight his tent situation had changed.  Rosa marched right over to Bea’s tent and sat firmly down outside.  Balthazar figured he should probably follow suit.

“Where are you going?” Peter’s voice said from behind him as he started heading towards his sister.

“Um …” Balthazar indicated in the direction he was heading.

“Oh, you have to stay here – christen the new tent, right?”  Peter noticed the glance Balthazar cast at Rosa, and clearly interpreted it correctly because he added, “get all your friends over.  It’s about time we all knew each other, yeah?”

“Yeah, I guess.”

Soon they were all set up outside Peter and Ben’s tent (and his and Rosa’s, Balthazar reminded himself), with beers and a bit of music.  Balthazar found himself, whether by accident or design he didn’t know, between Peter and Hero.  He sat back a little, watching the others starting to interact.  Ben was busy telling raucous jokes to Bea, who was laughing.  Hero was talking to a good looking guy on her other side, her gentle voice soft and her laugh ringing out occasionally.  Rosa and Leo were debating about politics and travel, subjects Balthazar had no interest in joining in with.  Peter was talking to a friend of his, who he’d introduced as Robbie, on his other side.  He soon turned his attention to Balthazar, however.

“How’re you feeling now?”

“Still a bit weird, but this is nice.”

“Why is it weird?”

“I don’t know.  It just feels a bit weird to be borrowing someone else’s tent, you know?”

“Don’t feel weird.  It’s just me.”  Peter raised his eyebrows at Balthazar who laughed.

“That doesn’t make it not-weird.  You know you’re weird, right?”

“I’m wounded,” Peter said, miming a stab wound in his chest, and Balthazar laughed again.

“It’s lucky I like weird people, then.”

Peter’s eyes changed subtly at the words and Balthazar froze.  Shit, why did he say that?  He couldn’t blame the alcohol because he’d barely started drinking.  What the hell did he say now?  Peter was looking at him in the flirty way he had the first few days, and Balthazar had no idea how to deal with the situation.

Beside Peter, his friend Robbie was getting restless.  He bumped Peter’s arm to get his attention, and ended up spilling a lot of beer over his hand and arm.

“Oh shit, man.  I’m sorry.”

“Don’t worry about it,” Peter said, pulling his eyes away from Balthazar’s and giving the guy a grin.  “I’d better go clean myself up though.”  He turned to Balthazar again.  “You want to come too?  Keep me safe from all those ravening beasts in the campground?”

“Oh, well, if it’s to keep you safe, how could I say no?”

They walked up to the washroom in peaceful silence, Peter grinning ruefully at his sopping shirt.  Once he’d cleaned up, and pulled on a new shirt he’d brought up with him, they sat down at a picnic table which had been left nearby.  Balthazar’s heart was pounding.  While they’d been down with their friends he didn’t pay much attention to how much he’d been flirting, but here he felt awkward and ill at ease.  He looked upwards at the night sky, trying to get his jumbled thoughts under control.

“This is nice, yeah?” Peter said, finally breaking the silence.

“Yeah.  I like to see the stars out here like this.  You don’t see them so much in the city.”

Peter looked up at the stars with him and smiled.  “They are nice.”  He looked over at Balthazar, who had brought his gaze down from the sky and was looking at Peter.  He took a deep breath as if he was going to ask something, and looked suddenly awkward.  “Hey, um.  I was just wanting to ask …”

“Yeah?”

“You and Leo … is that, um … is that a thing?”  The words came out in a rush.

Balthazar stared at him for a moment, in wonder that he’d even think such a thing.  His cheeks heated up as he answered.  “Um, no.”

“Is there … is there someone at home who’s like a thing?”

Balthazar’s cheeks were on fire now.  “No.  There’s no thing.”  He watched Peter’s face lighten.  The sight made him feel suddenly bold so he asked, “Why?”

“I’d have thought that was obvious …”

Peter opened his mouth to say more, and his hand twitched a little next to Balthazar’s, but just then Hero came up to them.

“Wondered where you’d got to, Balth,” she said with a smile.  “Rosa said to tell you she’s going to bed so for god’s sake don’t wake her when you get in.  That’s a quote, by the way.”

“Yeah, I recognised the style,” Balthazar said, smiling.  “I’d better get back, then.  Hate to try to get in my PJs while she’s grumpy in the next bed.”

Hero went inside the washroom, while the other two headed back down towards the tents.  Balthazar could feel Peter’s hand brushing his as they walked and his fingers tingled every time they met.  He came very close to just taking Peter’s hand, but he wasn’t sure that was the suggestion.  And besides, he already knew acting on his crush was a bad idea, not this close to going home.  Whatever he could do to protect himself from a painful separation was something he should do.  That knowledge didn’t, however, stop him from smiling and letting his hand relax into the contact.  He was just careful not to take it any further.


	6. 31st December

When he woke the next morning Peter was smiling.  It took him a few moments to remember why he felt so cheerful.  Balthazar.  He hadn’t been imagining things the last few days, then.  Well, he was at least ninety percent sure he hadn’t been.  Being as quiet as he could, so as not to wake Ben, Peter slipped out of his sleeping bag.  He remained quiet as he pulled on a pair of jeans and a jacket to go over the t-shirt he slept in. 

He managed to unzip the tent without disturbing Ben, whose snores whistled on in the still of the early morning light.  As he stood up from rezipping the door, Peter caught sight of Balthazar emerging from the next room.

“Hey, man,” he whispered. 

“Hey.  I didn’t mean to disturb you...”

“Nah, I wasn’t disturbed.  Was going to go for a walk anyway.”

“To the river?”

“Yeah,” Peter said as he started moving in that direction.  He looked back over his shoulder and raised his eyebrow at Balthazar.  “You coming?”

“Yeah, sure.”

They moved easily together down the narrow path, though it was really a little too narrow to be a comfortable fit for two people.  Balthazar moved to drop back a little, and his hand brushed Peter’s as he did so.  He dragged it away almost immediately, and Peter could see a blush staining his cheeks as he glanced back.  Balthazar was looking away, the set of his shoulders making it obvious that this was intentional.  Peter smiled and allowed his arm to relax so his hand brushed Balthazar’s occasionally as they walked.  His heart was thumping so hard in his chest he was sure Balthazar must be able to hear it.  But whenever Peter chanced a glance backwards Balthazar seemed to be in his own little world.  There was a small smile on his lips, however, and he had relaxed, and was allowing his gaze to drift towards Peter occasionally.  His hand never twitched away from Peter’s again, either.

When they got to the rock, they both sat as usual, though Balthazar allowed himself to be a bit less rigid than usual, his body seeming to melt into Peter’s a little as they relaxed.

“I’m going to miss this when I get home,” Balthazar said, looking out at the river.

“What?  Living in the trees and being a merman in all those beaches not enough for you?”

Balthazar chuckled.  “There’s just something calming about a river,” he said.  “I’ll miss the sound of the water around the stones, and the early mornings.”

“You’re not a morning person?’

Balthazar turned to look at him and smiled, looking a little embarrassed.  “Not usually.  I tend to stay up late writing or playing around with songs.  I feel most creative at night.”

“Wow, you’re a man of deep secrets.  I never would have guessed you were a fake morning person.”

Balthazar shoved Peter, almost hard enough for him to slide off the rock.  Laughing, he grabbed Peter’s arm and stopped him before he could fall.  Peter couldn’t help laughing with him.

“You’re vicious when roused, as well.  All the hidden depths are coming out now!”

“You deserved it.  Casting aspersions on my genuineness like that.  Besides, I saved you from a terrifying fall.  You should be grateful.”

“Big words now, too.  All this new information is too much for my poor little head.”

Peter mimed shock and awe as he looked at Balthazar.

“You’re an idiot, you know that, right?”

Peter just laughed.  He felt at ease and happy while trading silly insults, and occasional touches, with Balthazar like this.

“How was the tent?”  Peter asked once they’d stopped laughing and a silence had settled between them.  He turned towards Balthazar.

“Hmm?”  Balthazar had been staring out at the river, and appeared to have to drag his thoughts back from somewhere else.

“The tent?  How did you sleep?”

“Oh, yeah.  It was great.  Thank you again.”  Balthazar’s face was light and peaceful, and Peter revelled in it.  It was such a difference from the day before when he’d looked so stressed and anxious. 

“You’re very welcome.  I’m glad you were able to stay.”

“So am I,” Balthazar said, finally turning towards Peter and smiling.  “I’m not looking forward to going home.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah.”  And there was that look again.  The one Peter couldn’t decipher, closed off and unreadable.  He thought, hoped, it was because Balthazar didn’t want to lose this … this whatever was happening between them.  But there was always that voice in the back of his head that said they were only here for one more day and that it just wasn’t enough time.  As if in response to the thought, Balthazar turned to him and sighed.

“I need to head back up.  Last day of the reunion, you know?  Gotta spend the day with the rellies.”

“Far be it for me to keep you from your family,” Peter said, then he thought _ah, fuck it_ , and added, ‘I wish you didn’t have to go, though.  It’d be nice to spend a little more time with you.”

The smile Balthazar gave him was tender.  “Yeah, I know.”

He stood up and moved off, leaving a confused Peter in his wake.  His thoughts were a jumbled mess as he walked back by himself.  _He knows?  What does that mean?  He agrees?  He knows I feel that way?  He’s telling me he doesn’t?_

He pushed his thoughts away when he got back to the tent.  Balthazar emerged from inside with a small smile.  He wandered over to his friends, where Rosa was already tapping her foot irritably.  They walked away, and Peter focused his attention on making sure everything was set up for the party they were planning for that evening.  Well, not party exactly, not when it was just him, Ben, Claudio, Robbie and some alcohol.  Still, they needed music and enough alcohol to ensure they didn’t run out at a crucial moment.  Choosing a playlist on his phone took Peter a while, and helpfully took his mind off Balthazar for an hour or so at least.

Unfortunately, the set up didn’t take long enough.  It felt like no time at all until there was nothing to distract Peter from his thoughts about Balthazar.  It was frustrating, Peter thought as he sat outside the tent, that Balthazar was so reserved.  He seemed to keep most of his thoughts hidden inside, and when he talked it was with a measured control which made it close to impossible to tell what he was really thinking.  Peter was just starting on a repeat of the ‘what did he mean?’ mantra when Robbie dragged a camp chair over next to him and handed him a beer.

“May as well get started, yeah?” he said.

“Sounds like a great idea,” Peter said as he accepted the bottle and twisted the top off.  Anything to stop this damn introspection, he thought.  Soon, Ben and Claudio joined them and the four of them were well into Peter’s playlist by the time the other group returned.  It was just before 11.30 when Balthazar and Rosa waved goodbye to the others and headed towards their tent.

“Hey!” Peter called from outside the one shared by Robbie and Claudio, delighted to see them.  He was already a little drunk, which made him bold.  “You guys are early.”

“The rellies are all losers,” Rosa said with an exasperated sigh.  “They’re all in bed already.”

“You guys want to hang around here?  You’d all be welcome.”  He waved his hands towards the other campsite.  “Your friends, too.  No-one should have to sleep early on New Year’s if they don’t want to.”

Rosa stared at him for a long time, her eyes thoughtful and intense.  What she saw must have persuaded her it would be okay because she smiled.  “Yeah, alright.”  She headed back to where the others were all milling around their tents.

Peter looked up at Balthazar.  “You okay?”

“Yeah.  Just gimme a minute.  Gotta get some supplies.”  He indicated with his head at the beers Peter and his friends were holding.

Peter smiled and waved him off.  It wasn’t long before the other group were pulling their chairs over and sitting with Peter and his friends.  Balthazar ended up next to Peter, who spent a little too much time wondering if it was accident that produced that result or whether Balthazar wanted to be near him.  He’d noticed Rosa giving him an odd look as Balthazar sat down, and wondered what his own face was betraying.

“Hey,” he said again, smiling at Balthazar who grinned back.  “You guys need to catch up.”  He waved his bottle to indicate what he meant.  The music had become so loud that he had to lean close to the other guy to be heard.  Not that he minded.

“Nah,” Balthazar said with a duck of his head.  “We had a few with Mum and Dad.  Think that’s why they’re already sleeping.”

Peter laughed.  “Fair enough.  Hey!” he said, his eyes lighting up.  “You should play again.  Now.  What better way to ring in the year?”

‘Oh, nah.  I don’t think so.” Balthazar cast a glance over at Ben, and Peter grimaced. 

“He’ll be fine, you know.  I’ll sit on him if I have to.”

“Don’t want to make waves.  Going home tomorrow, I can wait ‘til then …”

“No, but what happened to you promising to play for me again?”  Peter put on his best puppy dog eyes and Balthazar sniggered.

“You know that’s not appealing, right?”

“I am hurt and appalled.  I am very appealing.”  Peter was throwing caution to the wind tonight.  A combination of drink and the knowledge that they were going to be parted tomorrow made him reckless.  Balthazar’s face softened from the grin into a fond smile.

“Yeah, you are,” he said, his voice soft and his eyes serious.

Peter could feel his heart racing as their gaze lingered.  He swallowed.  “You … uh, you want to maybe go for a walk?”

“Yeah.  Yeah, sure.”

They stood up, and everyone’s eyes turned to them.  While they’d talked, various conversations had started up between the others.  Peter noticed Claudio talking to the blonde, Hero, again while Ben was arguing with Beatrice about something to do with Doctor Who, their voices carrying even over the music.  Rosa squinted up at them from where she was chatting to Leo and Robbie.

“You okay, Balth?”  There was a hint of warning in her voice which made Peter wince.

Balthazar frowned at her.  “I’m fine.  Just … thought I might go look at the river at night.  Won’t have another chance.”

“Well, if you’re sure.”  She still looked concerned, and Peter put on his best ‘I’m a responsible person who will not allow your brother to be abducted by aliens while we are walking together’ smile.  Rosa glared at him, but turned back to her conversation.

Peter grabbed a torch he had nearby, and they made their way to the path.  Once again, Peter and Balthazar walked down to the river together.  Once again, hands brushed each other as they did so.  Once again, Peter’s heart was pounding by the time they got there.  Once again, Balthazar melted into him a little as they sat down.

This time Peter was emboldened, however, and reached out to take his hand.  Balthazar looked down at their crossed fingers, then up at Peter with a question in his eyes.  The music drifting down to them from the campsite was a strange counterpoint to the murmur of the river over the nearby stones, the thump of the bass loud even at this distance.  It made the situation feel even more surreal to Peter.

Swallowing his nerves, Peter spoke with his eyes fixed on Balthazar’s.  They were shining in the darkness surrounding them.  “I really like you.”

Balthazar’s eyes darted around, not resting on any one spot for long, as if he couldn’t bring himself to meet Peter’s gaze.  “I … um.  I really like you, too.” 

“I know this is sudden, but it’s like now or never, right?”  Peter winced at the inanity of what he was saying, but this was his only opportunity.  If he didn’t do this now he might regret it later, so he steeled himself and carried on.  “So, if you don’t mind, I’d like to kiss you.”

There.  It was out there, and – whatever happened now – Peter knew he’d at least taken a chance.  When he got home he wouldn’t have to regret not trying.  He watched Balthazar carefully, trying to judge his reaction.  After what felt like an eternity, his face lit up in a smile and he leaned towards Peter.  Taking the unmistakable hint, Peter met him halfway.  Balthazar’s hand tightened in his own as they pulled back a few moments later, breathless and smiling.

In the distance, they could hear cheers and hollering as the time ticked over to midnight.  Peter smiled at Balthazar.  “I guess we were a little early on that New Year kiss, then.”

Balthazar chuckled.  “Call it practice,” he said and kissed Peter again. 

Not needing any more encouragement, Peter responded enthusiastically.  It was several very long minutes before either of them even thought about going back to their friends.


	7. 1st January

Balthazar pulled back a little, breathing hard.  This was a little overwhelming when he let himself think about it.  Not the kissing.  He’d kissed other people before, after all, and enjoyed it.  It was the situation, the stillness of the night, the muffled yells of their friends as they celebrated.  It was the fact that this was New Year’s and New Year kisses were supposed to have significance.  It was Peter, and how perfect he seemed even after such a short time.  It was how scary that idea was because of course no-one was perfect and building him up in his mind could only end badly.  It was the knowledge that this had to end so soon.  But Balthazar couldn’t help it; he felt like he was drowning in the feelings coursing through him, which were heightened by Peter’s scent.  That same masculine musk he’d noticed that first day had become somehow more intense, more overpowering, this close up.

Their hands were still clasped together between them and Balthazar glanced down at them as they both sat back a little.  Peter lifted their joined hands to his lips and Balthazar felt his knees go weak.  This was completely unfair, he thought, as he searched Peter’s eyes in the faint moonlight.  How the hell was he going to be able to go back to real life after this?

“We should probably go back,” he said in a quiet voice.  “The others will wonder what happened to us.”

Peter gave a heavy sigh, before squeezing Balthazar’s hand.  “I guess.  But … I don’t want to.  I want to stay here, in this place, forever.”

Balthazar laughed.  “We’d run out of food pretty quickly,” he pointed out.

“There’s a river right there.” Peter nodded towards the sound of the water.  “I’m sure there’d be fish or something.  You can eat seaweed, right?”

“Not sure river weed is quite the same thing.”

“Wow, you’re a real spoilsport aren’t you?” but Peter was laughing and his words carried no sting.  He let out another regretful sigh before adding, “I guess I can cope with going back if you’ll just kiss me one more time before we go.”

His voice had turned serious, and his expression was intense.  Balthazar’s laugh died on his lips.  In response, he let go of Peter’s hand, ignoring his slight grunt of protest, and took his face in his hands.  Peter’s hands slid round to Balthazar’s back, and Balthazar was reasonably sure nothing had ever felt quite as good as the way those hands felt as they caressed his back as they kissed.  By the time they stopped, he was almost convinced that living forever by the river wasn’t an entirely worthless idea.

However, Peter stood then and reached a hand out to pull him to his feet.  They left their hands linked as they made their way back over the slippery stones to the path.  The torch made very little impact on the night and the journey, though short, was awkward and difficult.  It took far longer than it should have, and they both stumbled a few times, but at least neither one fell over.

“I’m not sure the river is supposed to be visited at night,” Balthazar said with relief as they made the relative easiness of the path. 

“It was worth it, though,” Peter said and squeezed his hand again.

“Very worth it,” Balthazar agreed.

They dropped hands before they got back to the others in an effort to avoid any harassment, however well-meaning.  It didn’t exactly work.

“Heeeeey fellas,” Ben said, his eyes glinting as they returned to their seats.  “You were away for a while.” 

The music had been turned down now that midnight had passed and unfortunately everyone’s voices were very clear.

“Yeah.  It’s really peaceful down by the river.  We lost track of time a bit,” Peter said as he picked up a beer.

“I bet you did,” Rosa said with a pointed glance at Peter’s hair. “Looks like it was veeery restful.”

Balthazar could feel the heat rising in his cheeks again as he caught Peter’s eye and they smiled.  The good natured ribbing continued for a few minutes before Leo cracked first and said he was heading to bed.  At his words, they all noticed how late it now was and one by one they all followed suit.

The next morning, Balthazar woke with a lump in his throat.  They were heading home today and, whatever he might wish, it was unlikely he and Peter would ever meet up again.  Last night had been a mistake, he thought.  Until then it had been a silly crush, filled with intense feelings and half-hidden moments of heightened contact.  Now that they’d kissed, Balthazar didn’t want to let it go.  He groaned internally and buried his head in his pillow.  He’d let the situation carry him away and done exactly what he’d promised himself he wouldn’t.  He’d got caught up in his emotions and made it hard for himself to go back to reality.

“You okay, loser?” Rosa asked from her seat on the sleeping roll next to him.

“I’m fine, just wonderful.”  He injected his voice with as much sarcasm as he could.  “Leave me alone.”

“Well, someone’s mean when he has a hangover,” she said, laughing when he just buried himself deeper in the pillow.  “Make sure you don’t sleep too much longer.  We should go say goodbye to everyone up with Mum and Dad before they all scatter to the winds again.”

Balthazar waved a hand to show her that he’d heard, but her words made everything worse.  Scattering to the winds was exactly what they were all about to do, and he didn’t want to.  All his caution at the start of the week, all for nothing.  He was falling deeper into this crush than he’d expected, and the thought of leaving here and never seeing Peter again left him feeling strangely bereft.

He was still feeling melancholy when he emerged from the tent half an hour later and spotted Peter.  His face lit up and he waved cheerfully at Balthazar who waved back, unable to keep a smile from his own face at Peter’s antics.  He was obviously teasing Ben about something and Ben was just as obviously protesting his innocence.  Peter gave one last parting shot as he turned away from Ben and headed towards Balthazar. Ben’s cry of outrage was a counterpoint to Peter’s whispered, “Hey” as he approached.

“Hey, yourself.”

Peter reached out as if to take Balthazar’s hand but he thought better of it and let his own swing awkwardly between them.  “You want to go for a walk somewhere?  We should talk …”

And here it came, thought Balthazar.  The talk.  The one where he was let down gently and reminded that nothing could happen because they lived such different lives, such a long way from each other.  Holiday fling.  Blah blah.  Suddenly feeling sick, he pulled a smile onto his face and said, “I’d love to.  But we have to go up to the other site.  Gotta say goodbye.”  He indicated up the road to emphasise his point.

As if she’d sensed what he’d said, Rosa called out, “oi, loser!  Get a move on!”

Peter’s face fell. He said, “Maybe when you get back?  If it’s not too late?”

Swallowing his sadness, Balthazar nodded and turned to go with his friends.  At least Peter wanted to do it in person.  There was nothing worse than the times this happened in a text message.  Not that Peter could do that – they didn’t even know each other’s phone numbers.  He was struck again by how fast this had gone.  Ah well, no regretting it, he told himself.  It was a thing that had happened, and he could choose how to respond to it.  It was best to remember it as a nice time he’d had rather than mourning for the what-might-have-beens or worrying about the what-he-should-have-dones.

Saying goodbye to the relatives was harder than Balthazar usually found it, too.  Usually he was happy to have seen them and safe in the knowledge that he’d be seeing them all again, at least at the next reunion.  This time, it was tinged with the knowledge that he soon had to say goodbye to Peter, while pretending he wasn’t affected by it.  The sadness of that finality bled over into these farewells too. 

By the time they returned to the campsite, Balthazar’s emotions were very fragile and he wasn’t sure he wanted to have the talk with Peter right away.  Peter, however, appeared to have been watching for their return because he met them before they’d even got all the way back down the road. 

“Hey, you wanna go for that walk?” Peter was using his best charming smile, but Balthazar couldn’t help but notice it didn’t quite reach his eyes.  It made him look nervous and a little concerned.  Balthazar’s heart clenched at all the implications of that look.

“What, n-now?”  Balthazar could feel himself fall over the words, simple as they were, and he blushed.

“Yeah,” Peter held his eyes.  “No time like the present, as they say.”

Behind him, Balthazar could hear Bea snort, and Hero shush her.  Resisting the impulse to run away and never have to face what was about to happen, he nodded at Peter and let him lead the way over to the path to the river.  If he’d had his choice, this was not where they would do this.  There were too many memories associated with this place for this conversation to be done easily here.

Peter sat on the rock and looked up at Balthazar with a quizzical expression.

“You gonna just stand there?”

“Guess not.”

Balthazar sat down awkwardly, worried about allowing himself to enjoy the proximity to Peter.  But he was unable to avoid being sucked in to the similarities of the situation to the many times they’d met here this week.  He was careful to avoid Peter’s eyes, and instead focused on the river itself.  Because it was later in the day than usual, there were a few people splashing in the swimming hole.  Their cheerful voices were an unwelcome reminder that Balthazar wasn’t happy.

“So,” Peter said, eventually.  “We’re heading home, then.”

“Yeah, I guess.”

“I meant it last night, you know.  I don’t want to go.”

“I know.  But …”

“Yeah, I know we have to.  Not enough fish here to feed us, and your no-meat thing would be an issue.”

Despite himself, Balthazar smiled.  He allowed himself to look over at Peter, who was looking down at his hands which were twisting nervously in his lap.

“The thing is,” Peter started.  He stopped, took a deep breath and started again.  “The thing is, I like you.  But …”

“But we live too far apart.  Yeah, I know.”

Peter looked at him, a frown creasing his forehead.  “Is that what you think?  We live too far apart?”

“Well, yeah.  I mean …”

“That doesn’t have to matter. Not unless it matters to you.  I mean, I –“ He ran his hands through his hair, leaving it wild and messy.  “Fuck, this is hard.”  He turned to Balthazar and took his hand.  “I don’t want this to end now, okay?  I want to see you in Auckland.  If … if you do, too.  Like, if you don’t, then that’s fine.  But I hoped …”

Balthazar felt something unclench in his heart as Peter spoke.  He squeezed Peter’s hand to try to head off the rambling.  “Yeah, I think … I’d like that,” he said as a grin spread across his face. 

“You would?”

“Yeah.  I thought … I thought you wouldn’t want to.  But I do.  I really don’t want this to end, either.”

“Why would you think I wouldn’t want to?”  Peter’s voice was puzzled.  “I’d have thought it was pretty obvious how ridiculously into you I am.”

“I dunno.” Balthazar shrugged.  “I haven’t known you that long, and it seemed presumptuous to assume you thought of it as anything more than a bit of fun.”

Peter bumped his leg.  “You’re an idiot.”

“Yeah, I guess I am.  But the joke’s on you; you like this idiot.”  He laughed at Peter’s expression, but quickly became serious.  “You know how I told you I didn’t want to go home?”

“Yeah.”

“This is why.”  He squeezed Peter’s hand.  “I didn’t want to leave you.”

“Well, now you don’t have to.  I’ll be sort of coming with you.”

“It doesn’t change the fact that we do live a long way apart.”

“Nah, it’s fine.  There are trains, and meeting places in the middle.  My flat’s pretty casual, we’re cool with visitors whenever really.  It’ll be okay.”

Listening to the confidence in Peter’s voice, Balthazar almost believed he might be right.  They could at least try, and at the very least they’d bought a little more time to find out about each other and what they might be like together.


	8. 9th January.  Auckland

“Hey, there you are!”

Peter’s face lit up as he saw Balthazar walking into the square.  He restrained himself, barely, from running over to him.  Balthazar grinned when he heard Peter’s voice, looked up, and walked over slowly.  Too slowly, in Peter’s opinion.  It seemed to take him an eternity to get to Peter.

“Hey, yourself.”  Balthazar’s smile was vibrant and Peter could feel his heart melting as he looked at him.

Aware of the people around them, Peter contented himself with a smile of his own and a squeeze of Balthazar’s arm.  He wasn’t sure how comfortable Balthazar would be with being couple-y in public.  It was one of the many things, he realised, that they were going to have to talk about.  Things had been so easy at the campground, but here in the real world things might be a little different.

“You look different,” he said as he looked at Balthazar, who was wearing a crisp shirt rather than the t-shirts he’d favoured while camping, and his hair looked a lot more styled.

“Oh.”  Balthazar ran a hand through his hair, blushing.  “Not bad, I hope.”

“No, I like this look.  Much classier than all those t-shirts.”

Balthazar laughed.  “You look good yourself. The eyeliner suits you.”

It was Peter’s turn to blush.  “I try.”  He glanced at his watch.  “Guess we’d better go if we want to get to this movie, though.”

They walked up the street to the theatre, talking all the way.  Any worries Peter might still have had that this would be more difficult at home were eliminated.  If anything, they talked more now than they had while camping.  By the time they’d got their tickets and popcorn, Balthazar had Peter in stitches over some tales of what Rosa had got up to when they were younger.

“… and then she told Mum she was sick and needed to go to bed, but she wasn’t really sick.  Really she wanted to sneak out to go see Graham.  Mum didn’t believe her, though, so she sat by her bed the whole time, feeding her soup and making sure she was resting.  By the end of it Rosa was so furious she almost made herself actually sick.”

Peter laughed, genuinely amused at the rambly way Balthazar had told the story.  “But you never did stuff like that?”

“Me?  No.  I was an angel, obviously.”  He winked at Peter, who laughed again.

“Obviously.”

They took their seats, legs pressed together again, and Peter sighed happily as he let the trailers wash over him without paying much attention.  He’d missed this, this being with and talking to Balthazar, and only now realised how much.  He looked over at Balthazar and found him already looking in his direction.  Placing the popcorn on the spare seat beside him, Peter reached out and took Balthazar’s hand.  Balthazar’s smile got wider and Peter felt his heart expand.  He wanted to kiss him, but just then the lights dimmed and the movie started, so he contented himself with brushing Balthazar’s knuckles with his lips.  Peter pulled the popcorn over and placed it between them.  However, he didn’t let go of Balthazar’s hand for the entire movie which made it difficult for either of them to eat much.  That didn’t seem to bother Balthazar any more than it bothered Peter.

Once the movie was over, Peter turned to look at Balthazar again.  He was looking at Peter with that intense look he was beginning to recognise.

“I don’t much want to let you go home right now,” Peter said.

“I don’t much want to go home,” Balthazar replied.

“So what do we do, then?”

“Go to your house?  Hang out a bit?  You’re nearer to a train station than my place, so.”

Peter grinned.  “That sounds pretty good to me.” 

They left the theatre together, and headed to the central station.  This time it was Peter’s turn to tell Balthazar stories of his home life.  Talking about his brother John, and their occasionally strained relationship, was usually difficult for him.  But Balthazar was so sympathetic that Peter found it easy to talk to him, at least around the edges of how he felt about his brother.

Things got a little tenser when they reached Peter’s flat.  He introduced Balthazar to the flatmates he didn’t already know, including his brother, and reintroduced him to Ben.  Ben, as expected, made suggestive comments about their relationship which made Balthazar blush again.  Peter quickly led him to his bedroom where they could have a measure of privacy.

As Peter shut the door and turned to face Balthazar he could feel his heart beating faster.

“When you said ‘hang out’ before, did you mean, like, x-box …” he said, leaning on the door he’d just closed.

“If you want,” Balthazar said carefully.  “Or we could, you know …” his eyes flickered to look at Peter’s lips, and Peter grinned.

“’you know’ sounds pretty good to me,” he said as he crossed the space to Balthazar and took his hands. 

Balthazar reached up and kissed Peter, and Peter could feel himself relaxing as the kiss deepened.  He had missed this, he thought dizzily.  Had it been this intense before?  Had kissing Balthazar last time been this … this much?  Had he just forgotten what it was like after the passage of one short week?  Well, long week, when you looked at it from a certain point of view.

They pulled apart, and Peter dropped Balthazar’s hands to wrap him in a hug, which he returned.  He could feel their hearts beating together, both a little speedy.  He laughed softly. 

“I think this is going to be okay,” he said, his voice a little unsteady.

“I think so, too.”  Balthazar’s breath was warm against Peter’s neck, and he shivered pleasantly.  “We should talk about it, though.  Like, how we can do it.”

“Yeah, there’s lots we don’t know about each other.  But we have time.”  He pulled back a little to look at Balthazar.  “For starters, do you want to stay to dinner?”

“Yeah, sure.”

“Great.  I‘ll make sure we do something not meat-y.”

As they sat down, Peter knew this _would_ be okay.  After a few false starts while camping (they both confessed to the misapprehensions they had laboured under when they were making assumptions that week), they were both willing to talk about the things they needed to, and they both wanted to make it work.  Everything else could come with time.


End file.
